‘Developers’ lives matter’ – Chinese software engineers use Github to protest against the country’s 996 work schedule
- The post has received wide support from developers, receiving more than 30,000 stars
- CB Insights study found that burnout was the primary cause of 8 per cent of the 101 start-up failures it analysed
Resentment against long working hours in China’s tech industry is growing among software developers that use the Github open development platform after a user posted a copy of China’s labour laws on the site and named two e-commerce companies that practice the 996 work schedule – 9am to 9pm, six days a week.
A Github user called “996icu” posted a so-called repo (repository) on Tuesday complaining that working 996 all the time means running the risk of ending up in the “intensive care unit”, adding that “developers’ lives matter”, a reference to the US activist movement Black Lives Matter.
By Thursday night, the Github post had more than 30,000 “stars”, a metric that allows users to bookmark a project they like. 996icu was also ranked No 1 on the site’s trending page on Thursday.
The post also named Chinese e-commerce firms Youzan and JD.com as practising 996, and highlighted a comment from Youzan chief executive Bai Ya, responding to the company’s adoption of 996 since the Chinese New Year.
“This would definitely be a good decision when we look back in a few years time,” Bai said in a post on his own WeChat Moments page at the time. When news of Youzan’s adoption of 996 went viral, it triggered an inspection by the labour authorities in Hangzhou, where the company is based.
“After our investigation, we found that [Youzan] hasn’t practised a 996 work schedule,” the Hangzhou Xihu Labor Inspection Brigade said in a faxed statement to the South China Morning Post on Thursday.